Many Christians unaware of crucial info about 9th of Av on Tuesday

Jews at sundown Monday marked the beginning of the fast of Tisha b'Av, or the 9th of Av, a day of suffering so intense throughout history that it has been set aside as a day of mourning.

It was the date when the ancient Israelites doubted God and thought the land of Canaan would be impossible to conquer, and thus that generation of doubters would never enter the Promised Land.

It was the date in 587 B.C. when the First Temple was destroyed.

It was the date in 70 A.D. when the Second Temple was destroyed.

It was the date when the Romans would crush later Jewish rebellions, inflicting a horrific price on the Jewish people.

It is known as the saddest day of the entire year in the Jewish calendar.

Pastor Mark Biltz, the discoverer of the "Blood Moons" phenomenon and the author of the new book "God's Day Timer," says Christians should pay attention to such an important day on the biblical calendar. According to Scripture, claims Biltz, the meaning of the day will be transformed from a fast into a day of celebration.

"The 9th of Av should matter to students of prophecy!" exclaimed Biltz. "In Zechariah 8:19 God declares that this day will be transformed from a fast day to a feast day! Unless you know when this day falls on our calendar you will never know when the prophecy is fulfilled.

"The Book of Romans tells us to weep with those who weep and this has been an annual day of mourning for the Jewish people now for 2,500 years! It is a day of fasting and mourning for the destruction of the first and second Temples on the very same day! It is to be observed as a day of fasting and a desire to see the presence of God restored to His world."

Zechariah 8:19 reads: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace."

"Some year, we do not know when, all four of the fast days mentioned in Zechariah 8:19 concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple will be turned into days of rejoicing!" exclaimed Biltz. "This will definitely happen in the messianic age when the Temple is rebuilt."

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Biltz argues recent developments on the Temple Mount should command the attention of all Christians.

Earlier this month, two Israeli police officers were killed in Jerusalem's Old City, leading to rising tension in the weeks afterward. In response, Israel introduced new security measures designed to prevent similar incidents, sparking escalating confrontations with Muslim protesters.

On Monday, five residents of the majority Muslim area of East Jerusalem were arrested and charged with praising the terrorist attack.

"This 9th of Av has the potential of being very prophetically significant," Biltz told WND. "We have Jewish people for the first time openly praying on the Temple Mount even when facing being arrested. The attitude of the Jewish people is changing where they are gaining the courage to be like Phinehas and be zealous for God's sake. They have had enough with Muslims killing Jews on the Temple Mount. This could be the year the prophecy is fulfilled!"

Biltz says there are not only signs on Earth, but signs in the heavens suggesting something major is about to happen.

"We have had signs involving the four blood moons on the biblical feasts of Passover and Sukkot in 2014 and 2015," he said. "We have had and will have significant signs with the sun having total solar eclipses on March 20 of 2015, the first day of Nisan beginning the calendar year. Then we will have a solar eclipse this August 21 of 2017 which is at the time of the beginning of the month of Elul, the month of repentance. A month later, there will be additional signs in the stars during the 10 days of awe, with the constellation Virgo being 'crowned' with 12 stars from the constellation Leo for the first time."

All of this, suggests Biltz, means students of prophecy should be looking to the heavens as well as to contemporary events in the Holy Land, especially on the biblical feast days.

However, as Biltz maintains, this means believers need to get on "God's calendar," or the biblical calendar, in order to properly understand the signs of the times. Biltz says he knows this may be unusual in the eyes of some Christians, but he firmly believes it is both the key to understanding prophecy and to truly living out one’s faith.

"By not observing the biblical feasts, we have lost an invaluable connection to the Almighty," claimed Biltz. "Anyone who is interested in prophecy but does not understand the biblical calendar and doesn't keep the feasts really is like a ship out on the ocean without a compass! Without keeping the feasts, the connection to understanding prophecy puts you in kindergarten eschatologically. My advice is to just try the feasts and you will see the Messiah in a whole new way!"